Schools Page reporters make the difference

Surrounded by fast-order syndicated news and sad accounts of public education, it is especially nice to report the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman’s Schools Page enters its ninth year today. The page has grown from a smattering of school related articles to a dedicated page in the Tuesday edition during the school year with articles submitted by local high school students and a column called Chalk Talk written by Mat-Su staff.

However, the real secret of success of the Schools Page is not the teacher column, but the work of the students. They prove that there is more good than bad in our public schools. This column is dedicated to the 2013 School Page reporters who are willing to step away from their comfort zone and write for real.

Typically, a Schools Page reporter is found within a journalism class or yearbook staff. But not always. Schools Page reporters might come forward through the prompting of another staff member or administrator. The mentoring teachers help generate ideas and proofreading. A few student reporters have simply written independently. But, by in large, whether shadowed by a mentoring teacher or writing solo, the Schools Page students mature as writers on their own. They grow in confidence and poise. From my vantage point, watching these young reporters develop their voice is like observing butterflies emerge from their cocoons.

Marilena Staudenmeier, a former Schools Page reporter and now a senior at Portland State University, was one such student. She said the writing for the Schools Page was stressful at times, particularly with the rewrites and making deadlines. But she credits the experience for guiding her into an English degree. “Writing for the Schools Page was empowering. It gave me discipline and made me feel a part of the community. I felt honored,” said Staudenmeier.

Holly Brett, a 2013 Houston High graduate, wrote for two years for the Schools Page, one year with Magy Helle’s help and the second year completely independently. She said the experience helped her come out of her shell. She said by the second year, teachers would ask her to help other students with writing papers. “I couldn’t believe it. All of a sudden people thought I could write. It really helped me believe in myself.”

Colony High graduate and School Page reporter Casey Branch took her skills beyond the school’s page and continues to write for the Frontiersman independently. She recently was asked to write freelance for Alaska Magazine. Kylie Boepple, another Houston Schools Page writer, worked in circulation at the Frontiersman this past summer. It’s as if the Schools Page is a gift that just keeps giving for these students with journalism dreams.

“I get a lot out of the Schools Page myself, “ Frontiersman editor Heather Resz says. She says she keeps in contact with many of the students who write for the Schools Page and runs into former reporters who say thank you for the opportunity. They all share with her how much writing for the paper meant for them. For Resz, the Schools Page becomes more than just a series of articles written by students, “It’s a chance to pay forward what a teacher did for me years ago.”

This year’s School Page welcomes student reporters from Su Valley High and Mat Su Central to join regular contributors from Burchell High, Colony High, Career Tech High, Glacier View High and Wasilla High. School Page writers meet regularly throughout the year with Frontiersman staff to learn how to write interesting leads, informative captions, and how to find the story within the story. An end of the year Best of the Year celebration is also part of the fun. Beyond that there are no other incentives to write except the magic of telling stories that need to be told as another Schools Page edition hits the presses.

The student articles are treated as working pieces of the weekly edition. Just like the paid staff, they experience the editor’s knife as well as any unfortunate typos. There are no “good job” stars, no second chances, no ribbons of participation, just real life reporting for your community newspaper.

That is why the first Chalk Talk of the year is committed to this year’s writers and the Frontiersman. In a time when it seems everyone wants something for something more in return; in a time when it seems as if smartphones have wiped out face-to-face conversations; in a time when Facebook has erased the need to read the news, it is refreshing to work with motivated young people who not only impress with their energy and work, but with their fortitude to make a difference alongside their hometown paper.

Emily Forstner is a Language Arts teacher at Wasilla Middle. She has helped coordinate the Schools Page since 2007. Teachers and administrators who know of interested students becoming Schools Page reporters can contact her at emily.forstner@matsuk12.us